Cong’s MLA N Shakthan elected Kerala speaker

Election to the post of the Speaker became necessary after the death of the incumbent speaker G Karthikeyan last week.

The Kerala Congress (B), which had a legislator in the Assembly, had left the Congress-led United Democratic Front on the eve of the election. But that did not affect the prospects of the Congress candidate. Shakthan got 74 votes in the 14-strong assembly.

Shakthan belongs to Nadar community, a powerful segment in Southern Kerala, particularly Thiruvananthapuram district.